Savior
by jbmaunier
Summary: Heechul is used to fending for himself, but what happens when Yunho comes along? Heechul/Yunho


It was uncomfortable, lying on the hard ground, his body feeling as if it had been run over by an eighteen-wheeler. The star-littered sky above him had darkened to a deep purple. A warm breeze caressed his stinging face, carrying with it faint smells of sewage and greasy fries.

Heechul slowly raised himself up on his elbows, grimacing as pain shuddered through his bruised limbs. He felt his blood-covered face gingerly, his fingers running over the raw edges of the inch-long cut on his cheek. The bastards must have pulled a knife on him after he had slipped into unconsciousness.

"How are you feeling?"

He looked up. The speaker was tall and lean, the sleeves of his uniform stretching over muscular biceps. He had the built of Heechul's regular bullies, yet he stood with his hands stuffed into his pockets, seeming as if he had no intention of attacking.

"Never been better," Heechul replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. He pushed himself up and slowly got to his feet.

"Easy there," the boy said, grasping Heechul by the arm to steady him. Heechul would have pushed the boy away had his knees not felt like watery jello.

Once he had regained his balance, he said dryly, "Are you here to make sure I'm dead?"

"Would I be helping you then?" the boy shot back, a hint of a smile on his thin lips. Heechul frowned. He disliked people who answered his questions with questions.

"Who are you, then?"

"Technically, I'm the guy who just saved your ass, but I suppose Yunho would suffice," the boy replied with a playful grin. Heechul froze. Jung Yunho was notorious for his rough-and-tumble ways and penchant for getting into (and winning) fights. So why was he here with SM academy's resident punching bag, claiming to have dispatched Heechul's bullies?

"You're saying that you beat up the people beating up me?"

Yunho shrugged. "I might have thrown in a punch or two but most of them left after I yelled at them. Cowards, the lot of them."

It must be nice, being bad-ass enough to scare away knife-wielding teenagers. If the bullies were cowards, what did that make him?

"Thanks, I guess," Heechul finally muttered as he bent and snatched up his backpack.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"With your face looking like that? You're coming with me to the hospital," Yunho said firmly, nodding towards his motorcycle.

Heechul paused, looking suspiciously at the tall figure. Someone with such a dangerous reputation didn't seem like the type to offer rides without ulterior motives.

Yunho raised an eyebrow at Heechul's evident apprehension. "If I really wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already. Besides I've checked your wallet and there's not much worth taking. Now climb on."

* * *

Heechul sat as the nurse dabbed ointment on his cut, his mind on Yunho. True, he was miffed at being ordered around by a stranger, but the ride to the hospital had been strangely relaxing. Heechul had held on tightly as Yunho expertly navigated the dark streets. It was not unpleasant, almost like hugging a pillow that was a bit hard but had the clean scent of fresh laundry.

"You're good to go," the nurse said, standing and dumping the wads of bloody cotton balls in the trash. With a nod of thanks, he limped out of the room into the empty hall.

"Yunho?"

The boy was gone and Heechul felt a pang of disappointment. Stupid of him, to think that the school's legendary fighter would stick around for a nobody like him. But it had been so long since anyone had shown him any decency that he had hoped it could have lasted a bit longer.

Sighing, he walked forward, leaning on the stark walls for support, trying not to think about how much nicer it would be to be leaning on Yunho instead.

"And where are you off to now?"

His heart leapt at the sound of the husky voice. Yunho stood by the elevator, eyes bright with amusement.

"You left me," Heechul blurted out. Crap. Now he sounded like a lost child with abandonment issues.

"Just for a couple of minutes," Yunho shrugged. "I had to pee."

Heechul nodded dumbly and looked away to hide his embarrassment. He didn't say a word as he mounted on Yunho's motorcycle, too wrapped up in his thoughts. Was he attracted to Yunho? He certainly felt gratitude, but why had he felt as if a hole had opened inside him when he thought that Yunho had left him?

As they neared his house, he finally convinced himself to forget about the entire encounter. It was dangerous to develop feelings for someone he may never speak to again. Better to crush those feelings and store them away before they could grow into something as painful as love.

"Thank you for all your help," Heechul mumbled, handing back his helmet.

Yunho shrugged. "It was nothing. Do you have a phone?"

Heechul nodded and pulled it out. Before he knew it, Yunho had snatched it out of his hand and had inputted a series of numbers.

"Call me if you bump into those guys again. Of if you ever want to grab a coffee," Yunho grinned, his white teeth flashing in the darkness.

With that one smile, all of Heechul's resolve evaporated. He wouldn't be able to forget Jung Yunho, even if he died trying.

* * *

Heechul paused before the door to the school rooftop, the exact door that Yunho had passed through moments ago. It was the first time that he had seen Yunho, almost a week after their first meeting. Finally, when his skin became numb from the cold cans of coffee clutched in his hands, Heechul took a deep breath and walked through.

The bright, mid-day sun was scorching. Through squinted eyes, Heechul finally found the tall figure at the far edge. Yunho stood with his face tipped towards the sky as if drinking in the sunshine. Streaks of red were visible in his dark, ruffled hair and his tie fluttered in the hot breeze.

Heechul cleared his throat and called out. "Hey."

Yunho turned and waved, a genuine smile on his face. "Is that coffee I see?"

Nodding, Heechul handed him a can. "I figured you'd want some since it's burning hot today. Is this where you go whenever you skip class?"

"Yep. It's good to get away from all the noise and people and grab a bit of fresh air."

"I'm sorry—"

"Present company excluded, of course," Yunho added with a grin.

They stood side by side, looking out at the trees and buildings spread out before them. Comfortable silence stretched between them as they sipped on their drinks. The question that Heechul had been dying to ask finally popped out.

"Why did you save me?" he said quietly.

Yunho's expression grew thoughtful, his eyes looking into the distance.

"I guess I just can't stand it when assholes abuse their power to boost their ego, or fulfill their sadistic urges, or for whatever reason."

So he had a noble heart beneath the tough exterior. Heechul nodded, trying to push down his disappointment. So Yunho had acted based on his own moral principles, not because of any feelings towards Heechul.

"Plus, I never forget a debt I owe," Yunho added. Heechul glanced over, brows knotted slightly in confusion. He watched as Yunho fumbled in his pockets and pulled out something metallic that flashed in the sun. It was a pen.

"I was in a hurry on the morning of the entrance exams and forgot my pencil case. You lent this to me and basically saved my life. I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you." Memories from three years ago rushed into Heechul's head. He remembered a short, scrawny boy with a bad haircut rushing into the seat beside his. He had given the boy one of his many writing utensils and had forgotten about it as soon as he had flipped open the exam.

"That was you?" he said, incredulous.

Yunho laughed. "I've grown a bit since then. I've been meaning to return it, but it's become a bit of a lucky charm for me..." he said, glancing at Heechul sheepishly.

"It's fine. Keep it," Heechul replied, still recovering from the shock of the revelation.

"I hoped you'd say that. So are we even?"

Heechul nodded, knowing that he undoubtedly got the better end of the deal.

* * *

"Good morning, Heechul-ssi!"

Heechul glanced up from his textbook into large brown eyes set in a pale, doll-like face. It was Kim Jaejoong, the class flower-boy whose parents reportedly owned a supermarket chain across Seoul and had enough money to burn. It didn't hurt that he was adored by half the female population at the school.

"Um, good morning," he said guardedly. No one ever went out of the way to speak to him and usually pretended he didn't exist.

"Are you friends with Yunho?" Heechul couldn't keep the surprise from his face.

"I guess so." Were they friends? They had shared drinks and chatted a few times on the roof-top, and Yunho had insisted they drop formalities, but did that make them friends?

Jaejoong flashed a wide, eye-crinkling smile that would have made girls swoon. "That's great! Yunho and I have been friends since middle school. I'm so happy that he found another friend."

"Ah. Okay," Heechul replied awkwardly. He wasn't used to speaking to people so pretty and popular, someone who was miles above him on the school social ladder.

"I worry a lot about him," Jaejoong sighed, his voice lowering as if he was divulging his inner thoughts to a friend. "He's such a nice person but everyone's so afraid of him."

Heechul nodded. "I know."

"I mean, he stuck up for me all through middle school whenever I was picked on."

"You were bullied?" Heechul said in surprise. It was difficult, imagining Prince Jaejoong being beaten in dark, smelly alleyways like Heechul.

Jaejoong nodded, his beautiful eyes full of sadness. "People teased me for being girly and were jealous that I was rich. The only way I was able to endure it was because Yunho was by my side."

The Yunhho that Jaejoong described didn't sound much different than the brave, righteous Yunho that had saved him a month ago. He felt a pang of regret for not having met Yunho sooner.

* * *

There was another one today.

With trembling hands, Heechul opened the piece of folded paper in his locker. The words 'DIE BITCH' were scrawled across the white sheet in a rough hand. He closed his eyes, trying to push away the fear that threatened to consume him. It could be a harmless prank, but he had suffered enough beatings to know that most bullies mean what they say. Heechul couldn't think of a single person he had offended to warrant anonymous death threats, but bullies seldom needed a reason anyway.

"Heechul, are you alright?"

He jumped and found himself staring into Yunho's worried eyes. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he nodded, stuffing the paper in his pocket. But Yunho's eyes were too sharp and the paper was snatched out of his hand.

"What the hell is this?" Yunho demanded.

Heechul tried to shrug nonchalantly, but Yunho must have seen the fear on his face.

"I'm fine. No one's tried to hurt me or anything"

"Is this the only one?"

Slowly, Heechul shook his head before whispering, "It's the fourth."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I...didn't want to worry you." It was a lie. Heechul cared too much to drag Yunho into his mess.

"Then you're more of an idiot than I gave you credit for," Yunho snorted. "We're friends, alright? And friends always tell each other when something's wrong, especially when their friggin' lives are in danger. C'mon, I'll walk you home."

Heechul followed wordlessly. Part of him was distraught at having put Yunho in danger, but the other part was grateful that he had someone to share his problems with. Not that it would be of much help, but he felt a surge of strength, knowing that he would not have to face his troubles alone.

"Is there anything else you're not telling me?" Yunho said dryly as they strode along the shaded sidewalk, birds chirping overhead.

Heechul bit his lip, looking back at Yunho guiltily. "It might be just my paranoia but I feel as if I'm being followed sometimes."

Yunho sighed and kicked at a pebble in his way. "You might want to let me know a bit earli—"

Without warning, Yunho crumpled to the ground with a yell of pain. A stocky boy with a bad haircut stood above him, baseball bat in hand, a malicious grin on his pockmarked face. Heechul watched in horror as more thugs surrounded them, wielding similar weapons.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it?"

The speaker was none other than the bully who had reduced Heechul to a heap bruises that fateful night. He kicked viciously at Yunho's side, drawing an audible gasp from the boy. Heechul's instinct was to run, but he couldn't leave Yunho behind.

Bending near Yunho's ear, he whispered "Can you run?" Yunho nodded slightly in response.

"Get ready then. I'll meet you at the fountain."

"Don't hurt me," Heechul whimpered loudly, hoping his act of cowardice would draw their attackers' attention to him.

"Wouldn't dream of it," the leader sneered, causing his cronies guffaw and slap their knees with their hands.

It was all the distraction he was going to get. Heechul leapt at the closest thug, blasting him in the face with pepper spray. He ran in a circle, dodging bats and blows, keeping his finger pressed on the nozzle.

"Yunho, now!" he screamed. There was not much left in the can and he hadn't managed to spray every one of the attackers. It was the confusion of flailing limbs that had kept them at bay. Throwing the can aside, he ran away, dodging under bridges and tearing through alleyways. The sounds of feet slapping on pavement behind him began to fade, but he didn't dare look back.

He finally arrived at the small bubbling fountain gasping for air, his lungs feeling as if they would burst open. Within moments, Yunho staggered towards him, his face ashen.

"I'm alright," Yunho panted, dropping his palms on his knees.

"Let's get you to my place," Heechul said gently, throwing Yunho's arm around his shoulder support the injured boy.

They slowly made their way to Heechul's apartment, Yunho grimacing as they mounted the stairs. Finally, he slumped down onto Heechul's battered couch, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Where are you hurt?" Heechul asked, settling down beside Yunho with his first aid kit.

"Just a few cuts and bruises and I might have scrapped my knee but it's nothing major. The first guy tried to hit me on the head, but he was too short to reach me," Yunho chuckled.

Heechul tried not to stare as Yunho shrugged off his uniform, focusing instead on the spots of red spread out across his chest. They would no doubt darken to blue-hued bruises within hours.

"I'm sorry," Heechul said quietly as he pressed a bag of ice against Yunho's ribs.

"For what? You just saved me back there."

"But you wouldn't have been hurt in the first place if it weren't for me," Heechul argued.

"Listen to me." Yunho grasped him firmly by the shoulders, gazing into his eyes. "These bruises? They're nothing compared to the pain I'd feel if I had found you like I did last time, bloody and unconscious."

Before he knew what was happening, Yunho had wrapped his arms tightly around Heechul. "You're more important, got it?" he whispered. Heechul nodded, his heart quickening at Yunho's touch. The ambush, the escape, everything faded from his mind except for the feel of Yunho's hands on his back, his warm breath in his ear.

Finally, Heechul broke away to continue tending to Yunho's injuries, but something had changed between them, a line had been crossed. They remained quiet and polite, both too embarrassed to look each other in the eye.

"It's late. Why don't you stay over?" Heechul said, packing up the contents of the kit.

"Is it alright with your parents?" Yunho asked, looking around nervously as if afraid Mr. and Mrs. Kim would jump out from the corners of the room.

Heechul shook his head. "They're back home in the countryside. I've been here on my own since tenth grade. C'mon, I'll show you my room."

For once, he was thankful for his obsessive cleanliness. His room was small, but tidy, books stacked neatly on shelves, the bed covers smoothed down.

"You take the bed and I'll take the couch. Bathroom's down the hall. You can't miss it."

"No way. You sleep in your bed and I'll take the couch. I'm the one who's imposing."

Heechul rolled his eyes. "You're the guest _and_ the injured patient, so just lie down."

Yunho stared at the bed, a pensive expression on his angular face. "You know, we could just sleep together." He glanced at Heechul, mortified. "Um, I don't mean it in that way. I just thought it'd be easier for both of us to share, and I'd feel less intrusive, and I'd sleep better knowing that you're safe…"

Heechul had to admit, the flustered, rambling Yunho was rather endearing. "Alright then."

After a quick shower, Heechul climbed beneath the covers, suddenly nervous. His senses were acutely aware of Yunho's presence. They lay side by side in the darkness, so close that Heechul could almost feel the heat emanating from Yunho's body.

He wondered if their relationship was still considered friendship, or if it had evolved into something more. Something like love.

* * *

"Wake up!"

Heechul blinked, rubbing his eyes to clear away the morning grogginess. Rays of sunshine peaked in through the cracks of the curtains and he felt a finger prodding his shoulder. He glanced at the clock on his dresser. It read six-thirty.

"What is it?" he mumbled, throwing the covers over himself. It was much too early for school and no one was going to stop him from getting his beauty sleep. Wait…

"C'mon, up you get," Yunho's voice rang out cheerfully and Heechul felt himself being hauled into a sitting position. Everything from the night before slowly began filling his sleep-deprived brain. Crap. He probably looked as if he'd been dragged to Hell and back.

"Don't look!" he said, panicking.

Yunho merely laughed. "Dude, I've already seen you drooling an ocean on your pillow. Besides, what kind of a shallow person do you think I am to care about how you look?"

"Well, I care," Heechul grumbled. Nonetheless, he stood and hurriedly pulled on his uniform as Yunho's back was turned. "Why are we up so early again?"

"We're going to catch the bastard behind all these attacks," Yunho replied grimly, a determined glint in his eyes. "You don't go to your locker in the morning do you?"

Heechul shook his head.

"Good, because I have a feeling the idiot slips in the note in the morning when no one's around. It's too suspicious during the day, when the halls are always full, so it's the only time he can do it unless he skips class."

It was better than sitting around doing nothing, and he was _not_ going to let anyone hurt Yunho again.

They quickly walked to school, pass the wrought-iron gates and into the locker area. Together, they hid in a shadowed alcove that would give them a clear view of both the door and Heechul's locker.

They didn't have to wait long.

The door quietly swung open. A thin figure stepped through, glancing furtively around before approaching the lockers. Heechul's eyes zeroed in on the sheet of paper in the figure's hands.

"Jaejoong?"

It was Yunho who spoke, shock written on his face. Jaejoong spun around, his eyes widening in surprise before clouding with guilt.

"You were the one behind all of it?" Yunho said quietly, his voice taking on a steely edge.

"I…it was…" Jaejoong said haltingly before blurting, "He took you away from me!" The boy shot a scathing look at Heechul.

"What?"

"I know everything. How the two of you would sneak off to the roof and walk home together and act all lovey-dovey and I just couldn't stand it anymore," Jaejoong yelled, anger contorting his beautiful face. So Heechul hadn't been paranoid. Someone had been following him all along.

"So you hired those thugs to come after us," Yunho said coldly. Heechul listened in disbelief before remembering that Jaejoong certainly had enough power (and cash) to issue an attack.

Jajeoong's face crumpled as he said softly, "They were only supposed to leave you alone…I'd never do anything to hurt you."

Yunho let out a bitter laugh. "You should have told them to go for me instead. Hurting the people I love only makes me angrier."

"Yunho…" Jaejoong whispered, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Everything I did… it was because I…I love you…"

"The only thing that's stopping me from beating you to a pulp is our past friendship, but if you ever so much as talk to Heechul again, I. Will. Make. You. Pay." Yunho spat, his eyes burning with a dangerous fire.

Grabbing Heechul by the hand, he stalked away, leaving behind a stricken Jaejoong who looked as if the world had just ended.

* * *

The setting sun sank even further in the blazing sky. Pink-tinged clouds floated amongst the myriad of orange and yellow as the air around them cooled. They sat on the rooftop, far above cacophony of bustling people and blaring horns of the evening rush.

"How are you feeling?" Heechul asked, echoing the first words that Yunho had spoken to him.

Yunho looked unseeingly into the distance. "Shocked, I guess. Jaejoong was one of my closest friends and I never thought…."

"Well, it's hard not to fall in love with you. Believe me, I've tried," Heechul said, glancing warily at Yunho's reaction. It was an offhand confession, but a declaration of his feelings nonetheless.

Yunho smiled slightly, the corners of his lips rising. "I would say the same for you."

"What?"

He let out a chuckle. "Why did you think I've kept your pen for all this time? It was because I wanted to cling on to something that belonged to the boy I've fallen in love with."

"So all this time…"

"I've been watching you from afar, trying to find some way to approach you," Yunho said honestly.

Heechul couldn't find any words to express the joy that filled his heart. Instead, he leaned forward, threw his arms around the boy who had saved him, the boy who had shown him what love was, and kissed him on the mouth.

It was even more fantastic than fireworks, even more beautiful than paradise, even more wonderful than a cup of hot chocolate on a chilly day.

"Wow," Yunho whispered as they broke apart, gasping for breath. "I could get used to this."

"So could I."


End file.
